Lackadaisical
by walkingdisastersharkchild
Summary: ONE-SHOT. AH AU. Lackadaisical. Synonym: careless, casual, indifferent. Antonym: careful, caring, enerjetic. The word seemed to fit his day perfectly. Cloud/Tifa


**My bad. I enjoyed writing it too much. Also, the title is a funny word.**

**("it passes the fun to say test" - Sinead)  
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**One shot, although later this year (most likely sooner, actually) will develop into something else. **

**If you can tell what song I was influenced by, I owe you a one shot of your choice. Hint: something to do with 'gym class in half an hour'**

**(I think that blatantly gave it away)  
**

**Read and review, thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own, although some parts I wouldn't mind having a say in.  
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He sat at the back of the class, slumping forward onto the desk before his bag had a chance to hit the floor. When it did, however, it earned him a few stares and rolled eyes, which he blatantly ignored, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep instead of starting something he was bound to regret later.

After all, Zack would find out eventually if anything happened. He had sources, it seemed, and Cloud was not happy with being constantly monitored by the older man. Sure, he had two years of life experience on him, but that didn't make him ruler of _Cloud_'s life.

As he was already planning a defensive speech in his head (if Zack would mention _anything_ at all), he failed to miss the little giggles of his current neighbour.

Feeling her poke his arm to death irritated him to no end, and Cloud gave her a look that would normally freeze hell over. Unfortunately, having received this look almost every morning since they started school together, Aerith remained unfazed, still smiling. It had no effect on her whatsoever, but she had moved on from her poking, after getting the desired reaction out of him. Complete and total attention.

"I didn't see you leave this morning, Cloud. I thought you said you would wait for me." She looked at him questionably, trying to figure out why he had left ridiculously early. Not coming to a reasonable conclusion, she intensified her stare, pout forming on her lips.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders, and turned to face the front of the class. He hated that pout. It damaged his image. "I went for a run."

"For _three hours_?" Aerith half-shouted, earning a round of curious glances.

He couldn't help the smirk on his face as he imagined what his classmates would have been thinking. Well, he had one idea, and he particularly wished that it would happen _someday_ with a certain _someone_. "I had a lot of energy to burn."

Aerith just blinked at him, and resorted to shaking her head. He smiled at her quickly, just as a substitute teacher walked in, a slight limp to his leg. Curious, Cloud tilted a little to the side, noticing that the man had a prosthetic leg. How odd.

He heard her small mutter of 'obviously' and chuckled quietly, brought back to their previous conversation. He had purposely gone for a longer run than usual, due to the small factors of a particular dream, and the need to avoid any drama over breakfast. No doubt Zack would give him some kind of lecture about behaviour and attracting people.

Cloud didn't _want_ to attract people. He was fine where he was. He was just the small kid at the back of the class, with gravity-defying hair, and his best friend's girlfriend as his closest confidant. That would tie him over until university. Then he would be able to start again. Surely _that_ was possible.

The door slammed open as their teacher was halfway through the list of names, and an irritated look was the first thing the intruder received before a round of whispers.

Cloud's heart sped up as he realised who the _intruder _was. She smiled, breathing heavily and spilling multiple apologies about her lateness. Something to do with the traffic, a car and a particular parking spot.

It was almost ironic that her name was the next to be called and she arrived just in time.

_Lockhart, Tifa_.

She grinned apologetically at their teacher once more, before settling down in the seat in front of Cloud.

Aerith gave the girl a little wave, and nudged Cloud to give some sort of greeting. Cloud looked up once at Tifa, and then buried his face in his arms again. Aerith let out a small grunt of disappointment, apologising to Tifa in a whispered voice.

Tifa whispered back that it was all 'okay', and any reaction from Cloud that was remotely different would shock her like no tomorrow. And she was dead serious.

He blushed furiously at her words, and muttered a small 'here' when _Strife, Cloud_ was called out. Also, due to the fact that the idiots towards the left of the class started up their usual taunts, involving some silly name calling, and a few paper balls aimed at his head, he assumed the teacher would know he was here. Who wouldn't with that much commotion over a name?

There was a yell of 'calm down' and laughter just started up once more. _Did he really expect anything different from a crowd of complete fools? _Cloud thought.

Tempted to trip one of the larger males over as he walked past, a small pinch to his right arm made him stop and slide his legs back under the desk. Aerith gave him a disapproving look and turned to face the front.

Cloud pouted at the fact she had spoiled his - limited - amount of fun, and realised who the jerk he would've tripped over was. His arms were around Tifa's shoulders, and he was whispering something mildly inappropriate into her ear. Sadly, the big jerk didn't realise the whole class had gone quiet. Even their substitute turned an ear towards them.

At Tifa's uncomfortable laugh, conversations started up again. The jerk let go, and noticing Cloud's angry look, he just smirked and wandered back over to his flunkies - if that was even the right word to describe the lowlifes.

Tifa cleared her throat and turned to face Aerith. They started talking about something completely feminine, but Cloud payed as much attention as possible, hoping to hear some remark relating back to him. He was starving for her attention, although he would never admit it.

"How's Zack these days, Aerith? It's been a while since I last saw him," Tifa commented, flipping through Aerith's purse and smiling at the photos of her and Zack.

Cloud was more shocked at the fact she knew Zack, or had met him before than the fact that she spoke directly to him about one particular photo in the purse. His wish was granted, and he hadn't the faintest idea how to respond.

"Oh! You live with them too, don't you, Cloud?"

Cloud flushed, nodded quickly - a rather jerky action than an actual nod - and stood to leave. Tifa looked up in shock at his actions, but understood as the bell for classes just started to ring. Handing back the purse, she mentioned that she will see him in the gym.

He nodded once more, and blushed under the scrutiny of Aerith's curious eyes. Really, he needed to stop the girlish actions he was displaying. It was getting him nowhere.

"Hmmm."

Cloud huffed and ran a hand through his hair. He was glad that the rather prominent spike in his hair had decided to lie low once he reached sixteen. Chopping the rest of it off at seventeen was the best decision he made.

Aerith made the noise several more times before he turned to face her. They were just outside the gym now. Her classes were further down the corridor. "What, Aerith?"

"Oh, _nothing_ at all. Have a good day, Cloud." She kissed his cheek quickly before walking away to her next class.

Cloud gave a low look at her retreating form. He didn't like to be mothered by anyone _apart_ from his mother. And even then it irritated him. Any form of babying was just enough to piss him off.

Walking into the gym, and ignoring the calls of the jerks and the yell of the psychotic teacher, he walked into the male changing room, slipping out of his clothes and into the standard blue shorts and white top with ease.

He hated gym. Sure, he was good at it - amazing even - but his clothes went mysteriously missing every time and always happened to end up somewhere oddly disturbing. Once, his underwear went missing after the pool session. It had ended up in the old English teacher's top drawer, which had resulted in inquiries, firing and quite a lot of tantrums for no one believing him that the teacher was 'not his type' and the 'wrinkly old bag' had been falsely accused.

He stuffed his clothing in one of the back lockers, hoping that the idiotic males of his class wouldn't look in any of them. He really couldn't afford to explain to Zack once more of how his clothing had ended up on the school roof, and no, he hadn't had sex up there either, regardless of what he had heard from Aerith.

Aerith's little stories always got him into trouble, and Zack believed _every_ single word that came out of her mouth.

He wandered out onto the oval, where his classmates were stretching, or giggling to themselves as they pointed out the attractive ones of the other gender - even the males shared a chuckle over the size of racks.

Tifa waved at him, and Cloud turned away, embarrassed. Her boyfriend noticed this little action, and as it so happened Cloud had turned to face him, shaped his hand into something similar to a gun and mimicked shooting Cloud between the eyes.

Cloud rolled his eyes. He knew that guy brought a gun to school. Nothing that impressive, no matter how much he was trying to compensate. A family friend, Vincent, had some really _flashy_ guns. Intense emphasis on flashy, as some had been configured to release bursts of light over actual bullets. Cloud had been seeing stars for the next twenty minutes after having _accidently_ set one off.

He watched as Tifa scolded her boyfriend with the 'rude gesture', and he suggested that he could make it up to her _any way she wanted_.

Cloud blanched at that. Really, had the guy no class? If he was going to be so suggestive, he should've known that it would end in him being blue-balled for the rest of the day, as his lewd comments flustered Tifa so much. Cloud would know these things; it happened so often in a day, it surprised him quite a bit that the jerk's balls hadn't fallen off yet.

The teacher yelled some more insults, and set everyone off with laps, girls starting at the back. Admitting that although it was sexist, it was a good idea, as most of the girls walked or stopped halfway, blocking up the lanes.

The boys, on the other hand, started up the usual jokes pertaining to sex - _what else was on their mind other than sex?_ Cloud thought - and ended up with the males receiving more laps than females.

Sighing, Cloud set off, ahead of the pack already. After three laps, he looked over his shoulder when he noticed the jerk coming up behind him fast, a determined look on his face.

Cloud couldn't help it if he was amazing at sports. Running, next to fencing and sword fighting of sorts, was his best sport. It cleared his head, allowing him to focus on more important things.

Like the fact that apart from the jerk, Tifa was catching up with ease.

She smiled at Cloud, and he couldn't help the small grin back. Something about her sent him up in a flurry of happiness, and embarrassment as of late.

The jerk noticed his grin, turned back to look at Tifa, and then shot Cloud a very, very dirty look.

At that, Cloud set off, a little worried.

The bulk of muscle was just behind him, ready to throw himself forward, tackle and beat the shit out of the spiky-headed freak. Who did he think he was?

Tifa noticed the increase in pace, and set about catching up, one arm securely fastened around her chest and the other swinging back and forth at a constant pace. _Stupid breasts,_ she thought,_ having to be so freaking _big. It stopped her from most things, and attracted plenty of unwanted attention.

Cloud finished his laps well and truly before the others, stopping abruptly and side-stepping the mass of hulk that had hurled itself at him. In a flash, jerk-face was on his feet, and set about chasing after Cloud.

Why, oh why, did he have to promise Zack no fights? With a small frown and a prayer for forgiveness, Cloud turned, raised one fist and promptly slammed it into the nose of the opposing bulk. A successful crack of cartilage made Cloud smile. The jerk groaned loudly, and held his nose in his hands, blood running down his shirt.

Satisfied, Cloud wandered off, deciding that the rest of the lesson wasn't absolutely necessary. He had exercised more than enough, and had thoroughly enjoyed himself. If the guy couldn't handle a _small_ punch to the face, there was no way he would be able to stand a kick next time. Looked like all that bulk was for nothing.

However, the delighted emotions were cut short, as his dragon-lady of a teacher had her hands on her hips, and was staring down at him hard. As it was so similar to Zack's look of disapproval, Cloud had the decency to show a little remorse. He hadn't meant to break any bones. Well, not _really_.

Something about a million detentions till his life ended, and having to clean up after gym entered one ear and left the other, as Tifa was looking at him in a new light. As were several other females, all who set about getting their backs straight and chests out.

Knowing he was never going to forget this moment, Cloud swore lightly, which resulted in another earful.

Tifa smiled at him, and watched him start on several more laps. She noticed how he didn't seem very tired after all that running prior to the punch. This led her on to believe he had more than enough stamina, which proceeded to make her entertain some private, dirty thoughts.

Apparently the females beside her were on the same page, just not as discrete. They were giggling about it, and amongst other things that resulted in some very, _very_ private thoughts. Feeling a bit flustered, Tifa excused herself and went into the female changing room.

Cloud watched her walk away, and finished his laps faster, pushing every little bit of energy into the movement.

Eventually, people got bored, and moved onto the next class, leaving only the janitor on a tractor, himself and his teacher. He finished with ease, although his legs started to give way just that little bit.

Good, now he could sleep through English and Maths with no problem.

Following the teacher's orders to clean up the gym, he found no need in changing. Instead, he set about packing away the equipment quietly, humming to himself every so often.

The teacher was long gone, and Cloud considered sleeping in the gym. Under the bleachers or somewhere dark and away from prying eyes. He entertained the thought for a while, before dragging a large mat underneath one of the bleachers and falling back onto it, promptly falling asleep.

Tifa emerged from the change room, stretching her hands over her head. She had waited until everyone had left, hoping that they wouldn't talk to her about Cloud's _size_.

Seeing as it was known they knew each other from a young age, everyone had assumed at first that they had been romantically involved. This belief was blown out of the water once Cloud found out, causing an unnecessary scene and several tears. Now he was just picked on more than ever, and Tifa couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for it.

It was unusually quiet in the gym, and Tifa felt the need to stay in the gym more than ever.

Walking around to the hoop at the far end, she heard soft snoring. Shaking her head for thinking something ridiculous, she continued walking. As she drew closer, the snoring grew louder, and, without thinking, Tifa looked underneath the closest bleachers.

Gasping, before covering her mouth with her hands, Tifa looked at the sprawled form of Cloud. He was snoring lightly, hands under his head. Smiling at his easiness of being below a _bleacher_ (of all things), she crouched down and slipped under to join him, sitting by his feet on the mat. She watched people walk in and out for a while, before dozing off herself.

Cloud woke after what felt like a few hours, his internal body clock telling him that Science was about to start. He sat up, and yawned. Not before coming face to face with a pair of dark brown eyes.

Startled, Cloud fell back, successfully hitting his head against one of the posts. Groaning, stars sparkled behind his eyelids. A hand over his mouth made his eyes snap open despite the pain, and Tifa sat before him, one finger pressed against her lips.

He nodded, slightly confused, slightly scared, but otherwise delighted. She pointed to the area outside their little hidey-hole and Cloud followed the direction of her finger. Their principal and gym teacher stood in the centre of the court, arguing heatedly.

Raising an eyebrow at Tifa, Cloud moved a little closer to catch the end of the conversation.

"Lover's spat," he mouthed, and Tifa laughed into her hand.

Quite literally lovers, the boss and his employee promptly started kissing, and fell into the nearest broom closet. Fearing that he may be forever scarred, Cloud focused back on Tifa, who was clutching her stomach in laughter, shaking from the intensity.

Confused, Cloud spoke. "What's so funny?"

"I always knew they were screwing, but you know how people get."

Actually, he didn't know how people 'got' but he kept that information to himself. He just allowed himself to absorb her laughter, smiling all the while.

When Tifa caught her breath, she looked at Cloud. He had changed drastically since their days as children; his hair was much shorted and tamed than it had once been, although he had paled considerably since Nibelheim. Freckles were scattered over his nose and cheeks, she realised, and internally admitted that he had definitely shaped up into something completely and totally desirable.

Cloud tried to keep the blush off his cheeks, fighting the blood earnestly. As the star of more than one of his dreams, he never thought he would find himself in any kind of situation such as this with her. And, to top it off, he never thought he'd still be in his sports uniform. Kind of a twist in the usual kinkiness, but he banished those thoughts quickly. He really didn't want to humiliate either of them, and make matters worse.

Noticing her change in attire - which he quite enjoyed -, he cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm just going to get changed. Don't move," he added hastily.

Tifa laughed and pushed him out, although pushing his rear end more than his back. Both had yet to decide whether that was intentional, or completely accidental.

Thanking all the Gods above that his clothes were safe, Cloud changed quickly, chucking his sport uniform into his actual locker. He hurried out, keeping close to the doors as he wandered back over to the bleachers.

Tifa watched him from the spaces between, completely enjoying the image of Cloud clad in a sleeveless black shirt, complete with a zip (she noticed), baggy black pants and brown boots. He seemed at ease, although looking around every so often to see if anyone was coming. She thoroughly enjoyed the sight.

He slipped back under the bleacher with little to no noise, sighing contently as he sat with his back against the wall. He ogled her once more, having already noticing the white sleeveless and black skirt she was wearing.

They almost matched.

Smiling at him once more, she enjoyed his silence. She noticed more things when it was quiet, like how he would shift every so often to get comfortable again (vaguely, she wondered why), how his muscles moved under his skin, how his eyes glowed a lighter blue around the pupils and how his lower lip was that little more pronounced than his upper. And how his face seemed to be inching that little bit closer.

Oh.

Softly, Cloud pressed his lips against hers. He mentally patted himself on the back for having the balls to do so. Zack would've been proud.

_Under the bleachers too! Cloud, you _dog_!_ He imagined him saying.

Hesitantly, Cloud moved forward, resting his weight on his palms as he leaned in that little further. As Tifa didn't seem to be moving away and was slowly responding, he took that as a good sign.

It was just a soft kiss, but was enough to set her heart racing at an incredible rate. Moving back, and opening her eyes, she noticed how intensely Cloud was staring at her. She blushed under his gaze and looked anywhere other than his remarkably pouty lips.

Cloud grinned, completely and totally proud of himself. Tifa, assuming that the smile was for her, returned it. Well, _that_ was not something she would've thought of happening.

The slam of the broom closet door opening brought them out of la la land, and they both looked up, in disgust and fear for their lives.

The teachers swayed out of the closet and in opposite directions.

Lying back on the mat, Cloud spoke up.

"So, same time tomorrow, then?"

Tifa couldn't help but laugh loudly, as that was one of the things she never thought to come out of Cloud's mouth.


End file.
